My husband says that I am cheating on him with my hair. I love anything pertaining to haircare! This blog is for everyone who feels the same way!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

My Straightening Regimen

Okay so I have been straightening a lot lately. I did it once for a bachelorrete party, and two bridal showers. Did it again for a wedding and will do it one more time for my graduation and another wedding the next day.

So this is my regimen for when I straighten.

NOTE: Since I am transitioning and over 10 months in, I DO NOT detangle with my Jilbere shower comb or Denman brush. I lose TOO much hair when I detangle that way.

Evening before I straighten:

Section hair in four sections

Scalp Massage with oil, detangle with hands ONLY! if needed.

Prepoo with oil and/or conditioner for about atleast 3o minutes with cap. Detangle with my hands ONLY! if needed.

Shampoo-I apply shampoo using a color applicator bottle. I target my scalp only, and let the suds cleanse the length of my hair. I do this once per section. To minimize tangles I hold the length of my hair with one hand and use the other hand to massage my scalp.

Condition Rinse-I use a light conditioner, something you would cowash with, to do this. I apply to both my scalp and hair. I massage it in like it is a shampoo. I do this because I only shampoo once. This step will finish cleansing while at the same time soften up my hair. To minimize tangles I do the same thing that I do when I shampoo.

Protein-I do this to add strength to my hair. It can be a light or heavy protein. It depends on how my hair is feeling. I DO NOT use heat or steam it in! Everytime in the past I used heat or sat under the steamer (that was DUMB) with protein, I ended up with matted hair. I have learned my lesson.

Deep Condition-I deep condition with heat or sit under my steamer. I have a microwave heat cap, a Pibbs Dryer, and a steamer. I use whatever I feel like using at the time.

After my final rinse of cold water, I apply Chi Silk Infusion to each section

I then set my hair in four plaits to air dry overnight

Next morning:

I Blow dry each section of hair on low setting and warm heat to completely dry and straighten out. If I run into any tangles I use my fingers ONLY to detangle. When blow drying, I start at my scalp and go to where my new growth ends. I then use my fingers to loosen up any resistance. Then I blow dry the length of my hair.

I then flat iron or use my Maxiglide on each section.

When complete I crosswrap my hair.

Not such a good pic, but I do this so that my edges lay down in the direction I am going to wear it. I don't like how the side of my hair that is combed in the wrong direction, comes out in a regular wrap.

If I get it set in pin-curls, I comb my hair to the back and then do four pin-curls at the nape of my hair. This is how it comes out.

The following are different variations of what I do if I don't want to wear it out.

6 comments:

It definitely helped me.I didn't know you could get such smooth results by airdrying and a very small amount of blowdrying on ng only. I always blowdry the full length of my strands and then flat iron. This will definitley save my hair if I can mimic your results.

I do blowdry the relaxed part. It is usually still a little moist. What I was trying to explain is that I don't go from root to tip with the blowdryer in one pass. There is usually resistance at the line of demarcation. So I go to that point with the blowdryer and comb attachment, then detangle with my hands, and then finish blowdrying the rest. I hope I cleared that up. I am just trying not to rip out my hair like I did the last time I transitioned. My hair broke off terribly by not being careful.

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About Me

After three times of trying to transition I finally completed the transition and was 100% natural starting March of 2006 (last relaxer was in April of 2005). I learned a lot about my hair in the almost 3 years that I was natural. My hair is 4a with the exception of the front center region, and portions of the crown, which are wavy with no real curl pattern. My hair naturally grows in layers. The front and crown are always shorter than the rest of my hair. I decided to relax Feb. 15, 2008 with Affirm Lye Original. June 13th, 2008 was my last touch-up. I DO NOT regret relaxing at all! I love my relaxed hair, I just love my natural hair more, which is why I am transitioning. My major challenge is to accept my hair for what it is and work with it. Learn to love it flaws and all! This will be difficult because I am a perfectionist when it comes to my hair. My ultimate goal is to get my hair healthy and waist-length. With the proper care I believe I will get there.If you have any questions, feel free to ask. ;-)